Ontario universities are currently working with the provincial government to create and fulfill Strategic Mandate Agreements, the goals of which are to “[build] on current strengths and to help drive system-wide objectives and government priorities.” Part of this process is evaluating a university’s research using bibliometrics—the quantitative analysis of journal[Read More…]
Commentary
Montreal needs to improve public transit accessibility
Fifty-two years since the Société de transport de Montréal (STM)—then called the Commission de transport de Montréal—unveiled the Montreal metro, the system still excludes wheelchair users. The STM is a public corporation that runs Montreal’s public bus and metro systems. However, two thirds of commuters in the Greater Montreal community[Read More…]
Not all university degrees are equally valuable
While meandering from lecture to lecture, there is one question that has undoubtedly crossed every McGill student’s mind: Why am I here again? The answer to that question for the young philosophers at McGill is likely to be something along the lines of ‘to become a more fulfilled and learned[Read More…]
A never ending news cycle: Responding to coverage of the American president
Since Donald Trump announced his candidacy for the Republican Party’s nomination for U.S. President two and a half years ago, he has dominated headlines worldwide. He generates an immense amount of news coverage, even by presidential standards. This has been accomplished through a careful manipulation of the media. Many people,[Read More…]
Collaborative work develops valuable skills
For most students, working solo from the comfort of their bed is infinitely more appealing than trudging to a Cybertech pod on Sunday morning to meet their peers for a group project. However, despite the added challenges, collaborative projects can be some of the most rewarding assignments both in terms[Read More…]
Canada should subsidize legal producers of cannabis
Subsidizing legal producers of cannabis may seem outlandish, but it might be the solution to bringing the Trudeau government closer to its goal of “keeping marijuana out of the hands of children, and the profits out of the hands of criminals.” With the Cannabis Act (Bill C-45) supposed to come[Read More…]
Don’t show me the (read) receipts
“U r bombed me,” read the notification. My immediate reaction was, “What?” Several text bubbles later, I found myself engrossed in arduous digital warfare with this person, who believed I had ignored their earlier messages. I later learned that R-bombing means reading a message intended for you but not responding.[Read More…]
The spectre of anti-Semitism haunts BDS
At a recent forum of McGill’s Task Force on Respect and Inclusion, Associate Professor Laila Parsons defended the existence of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel at McGill. Parsons claimed that “BDS is a normal method of activism, [and] the University’s condemnation of the BDS [movement] exacerbated[Read More…]
Gender-neutral bathrooms have impact beyond the stall
In October 2017, the Social Work Students’ Association (SWSA) launched a campaign to designate the bathrooms in the School of Social Work’s Wilson Hall as gender-neutral, meaning that students of any gender would be able to use any bathroom they please. On Jan. 9, the campaign succeeded, and most of[Read More…]
Divestment comes at a price to students
At the Dec. 12 McGill University Board of Governors (BoG) meeting, members of Divest McGill protested against a recent revision to the Committee to Advise on Matters of Social Responsibility’s (CAMSR) mandate. The policy change would prohibit the University from using the Endowment Fund to further specific social or political[Read More…]